Reversed Roles: Ganon
by C War
Summary: What if we were wrong about the events in these other worlds? Here, we find Prince Ganondorf not as the tyrant we know, but as a destined child, even more special than he seems.
1. Ominous Reports

Ganon sat on the roof of the fortress, looking out into the desert. As usual, he was alone, feeling very isolated among the Gerudo women. He was, of course, akin to a prince among them, being the lone male born to them in a century. But it didn't make his existence any less lonely. In fact, it made it worse, because everyone deferred to him, and no one would get 'close' to him.

Well, almost no one. "Hey, 'Dorf." Ganon tried to ignore Nabooru as she came up beside him. He wasn't sure why, when she was the only real friend he had, but she didn't seem to care. "Your 'moms' are looking for you." That was why.

Kotake and Koume were powerful sorceresses who often referred to themselves as Twinrova when working together. Which they did raising him. His mother had died in childbirth, so the two sorceresses had become surrogate mothers for him.

"Why do you think I'm up here?" Ganon replied.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Nabooru replied. "Well, unless they make me…"

"I understand, Nabi. It's fine." Nabooru flinched when he called her that, but when she started calling him "'Dorf"…

"That creepy magic of theirs really scares me," Nabooru confided, sitting next to Ganon on the ledge. "What're you looking at?"

"The desert," Ganon replied. "Every once in a while, the sandstorms die down a bit, and you can see the temple…"

"It is pretty cool to see, huh?" Nabooru replied. "But I like to look off towards Hyrule, personally. Sometimes I can see something moving over there. I wonder what's going on? We haven't had any visitors through for a while."

"Well, we _are_ bandits," Ganon replied, and Nabooru lightly punched his shoulder.

"Well, yeah, but there hasn't even been anyone to rob! The raiding parties are getting worried."

Ganon was worried, too, though he'd never tell Nabooru. He knew perhaps better than she just how long it had been since anyone had been seen from Hyrule. He also knew just how much the clan depended on the raids. "Maybe the Hylians are planning to starve us out…"

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Nabooru replied. "I mean, we had rain just a few weeks ago, so our gardens should be holding up."

"They probably don't know how much we rely on the food we steal, either," Ganon added, shooting down his own argument. "But then…"

"Aha! There you are!" They both jumped and spun to see Koume floating behind them. "Nabooru, you were told to bring him to the council chamber once you found him."

"S-sorry, ma'am." Nabooru stammedred. She was neatly brushed aside, however, as Koume swept over to Ganon.

"Come, we've much to discuss, Ganondorf." That was another thing he didn't like about his aunts, they always used his full name. Regardless, he followed her back inside, with Nabooru close behind. "Wait here, Nabooru," Koume told her as they reached the council chamber.

"Come on in, Nabooru," Ganon responded. "Koume, I don't care how private the matter is supposed to be, Nabooru can be part of it."

Koume leveled an analyzing glare at him, then at Nabooru, then back to him. He could have sworn that she was doing something magic, but he couldn't be sure. "Fine, come along."

She then opened the door, and the two youths stepped into the large room. There were only two empty chairs, one of which was quickly filled as Koume closed the door and moved to her spot. The other chair was somewhat larger than the others, which Ganon considered odd as he was smaller than any of the adults that filled the room. Nabooru hesitated, seeing that there wasn't a place for her, but Ganon motioned her to follow him, and had her stand next to his 'throne'. He'd have had her sit on it with him—there was more than enough room—but the women would've had fits, especially Koume and Kotake.

"Why are you here, child?" Kotake asked. "Out with you!"

"She stays, Kotake," Ganon said sternly. "I trust her more than most of the people in this room anyways."

Kotake leveled the same gaze upon them that Koume had before relenting. "Then let the meeting begin."

Ganon looked around to see just who was in the room. He was expected to see just what the orders of business would be, especially with how long it took him to get there. "It would seem that the primary order of business would be a scouting report, yes?"

Kotake and Koume nodded, and the scout/raiding party came forward. "There is…troubling news from the border, sir," the squad captain began.

"Troubling doesn't even scratch the surface!" one of the others interrupted.

"Hush!" Koume snapped. "Continue, captain."

"My lieutenant is right, I'm afraid," she continued. "Troubling is not nearly the word to use."

"What is the nature of the problem?" Koume pressed.

"The border…" the captain hesitated again. "The border has become impassable!" she finished in a rush.

The room exploded in noise.

"What?!?" Ganon shouted.

"How can that be?" Nabooru had a look of near horror on her face. The other women in the room were little better.

Ganon noticed the worried faces of his silent 'mothers', sitting across the hall from each other. That meant two things. First, the problem was likely magic in nature. And second, they hadn't had a clue. For all their magic power, they'd not sensed a thing from the strange barrier.

"ORDER!" Ganon shouted. The room instantly fell silent. "Ok, we know the problem. What are we going to do about it?"

"What can we do?" someone wailed.

"HUSH!" Kotake rarely raised her voice (Koume was the hot-head) so it had a startling impact when she did. "There is only one thing we can do, I'm afraid. And Ganon, you're the one who'll have to do it." The room sounded hollow after she finished speaking, everyone looking at their prince.

"If there's nothing else to be attended to at this time?" Koume asked, though it wasn't really a question. They all nodded that there wasn't, though. "Then the meeting is adjourned. Be on your way, and do what you feel necessary to prepare for the worst." The women leaving were surprisingly calm as they filed out of the room. Ganon suspected that there was a touch of magic involved in that.

In a matter of moments, the only ones left in the room were himself, Kotake, and Koume. And, he realized when he felt some pain in his hand, Nabooru. He also realized that he was squeezing her hand as tightly as she squeezed his.

"Now, dear," Kotake said looking much more kindly at Nabooru, "I'd really recommend that you leave now…"

"NO!" she shouted, startling herself with just how loud she was. "I…I want to help…"

"I don't think that…" Kotake started, but Koume cut in.

"There is a way, sister. She may not like it, but there is a way."

"What way?" Nabooru asked, surprisingly more sure of herself.

"We'll talk about it later," Koume said. "First, Ganon, your task…"

"Will begin in the training hall," Kotake finished. "It is time for you to truly realize your heritage. Go and fetch the sword of the Gerudo Hero, or…"

"You'll never survive any of the other challenges you must face." Koume said, finishing for her sister. "From there, you'll need to visit the desert temple."

"It's possible to get there?" Ganon asked. "Every time I've tried, I've just ended up back here."

"The sword will make it possible," Kotake told him. "After that, I'm afraid we cannot see the path. But it may yet reveal itself."

"What about me?" Nabooru asked. "How can I help him?"

"Not as you are, that's for certain," Koume laughed. "You'd be more a liability than an aid."

"Hmph!" Nabooru scoffed indignantly.

"Ah, that's what you're getting at!" Kotake exclaimed, realization of her sister's plan donning on her.

"What? What is it?" Nabooru asked, suddenly nervous.

"What, backing down now, dear?" Koume asked, tauntingly.

"N-no…" Nabooru stammered in response. Her stance, however, was very brave, much more convincing than her voice.

"Okay, then. Hold still. This may be a bit…uncomfortable," Twinrova said in unison as they combined their powers.

"Whaaaaaaaahhh!!" Nabooru began to scream as a bright light enveloped her. Ganon jumped to his feet to try and stop whatever was happening to his friend.

But before he could reach the trio, the light faded. And Nabooru was nowhere to be seen.

"Wah! What happened?!?" Ganon heard Nabooru's voice, but couldn't see the source. "YOU SHRUNK ME!!"

"That's not all, dear," Koume said, smiling. "try moving."

"Huh? What's that supposed to me-eeyah!" she squealed suddenly. "I'm…flying!"

"You're glowing, too," Ganon said, finally spotting her. "You're…you're…" he couldn't say just what she was, though it was on the tip of his tongue.

"She's a fairy," Kotake finished for him. "Which should be very helpful for you indeed, Ganon."

"Once I get used to flyyyyying!" she squealed again, tumbling into Ganon.

"Easy, Nabi," Ganon said as he picked her up off his shoulder.

"Stop calling me….y'know, actually," she hesitated, " let's go with that for now. It seems kind of more fitting for this body."

"Ok, now, head out to the desert, you two," Kotake counseled.

"After retrieving the sword from the training grounds," Koume replied.

"Alright, then let's go," Ganon said, motioning to Nabi who quickly followed behind.


	2. Into the Training Grounds

"Lava!?! Why is there lava in here?" Nabi shouted as they entered a room full of the molten rock.

"I don't know," Ganon shouted back. "Ask the crones!" Ganon just stared for a moment. Then he started running forward.

"What are you doing!?!" Nabi shrieked, bringing Ganon to a stop just before the edge.

Ganon sighed before answering. "I was trying to jump across."

"What? Why?"

"Because, there's a door over there, which means that there's going to be a reason for it to be there. Doesn't look locked, either."

"I think all of the locks are in the center room," Nabi replied, still very uneasy. "Guarding the sword, of course."

Their journey through the training grounds had been…interesting. Ganon was very glad that he'd been trained in hand-to-hand combat, because he'd needed it more than once. He'd also found a bag of bombs, which were very useful, especially against the Beamos in the previous room. So far, each room had had a key, as well, except for the center room, which had all of the locks that the keys opened. From what he could see, there were only two locks left between him and the sword, but there was also that door that had no handle on that side. It pointed towards this room, he realized, and he then looked up to the left, to see a higher ledge and an opening that he was sure had that door.

"No wonder it's the Hero's Sword," Ganon commented as he jumped to the first column standing out from the lava. "You'd have to be a hero just to GET to it." With a couple more jumps, he was across to the lower door. He waited a moment for Nabi to catch up, shaking her head, and then they headed through to the next room.

"First lava, and now a well? What's with this place!?!" Nabi was very much exasperated by the whole thing. "Come to think of it, does anyone ever actually train down here?"

"In those first few rooms, at least," Ganon replied as he walked to the well. It was really more like a pond, and the water was level with the floor tiles around it. And, of course, the key looked to be down at the very bottom. "Well, looks like I'm going in!"

"Ganon, wait!" Nabi called. Ganon ignored her and dove into the pond. Then he remembered that he really couldn't swim. Shaking the unpleasant thought from his mind, he continued pushing his way towards the bottom. By the time he wrapped his hand around the key, his lungs were beginning to burn. He fought to turn himself around, and then pushed off of the bottom hard with his legs, sending himself shooting towards the surface. Just when he thought he couldn't hold his breath any longer, his head broke the surface. He floated for a minute, breathing the fresh air eagerly. He then realized that Nabi was ranting at him.

"…could've died! Then who would save us, huh? Did you even think about it before diving in there? Was it worth it? Y-you scared me half to death!"

"So, you were worried about me?" Ganon cut into Nabi's tirade.

He was rewarded with a kick to the face. "Of course I was, you idiot!" she screamed. "Give me one good reason that I shouldn't be!"

"I deserved that, I guess," Ganon said, rubbing the spot where her little foot had made contact. Small as she was, she still packed a lot of power. "Anyways, I got the key from here, and this seems like a dead end, so let's look back in the last room again."

He opened the other door, and looked up. Having a different angle on the upper ledge, he could now see the door at the back of the alcove. And something else, too. "Looks like I was right. There's the key."

Nabi flew up to try and get it. "Huh? It won't budge!"

"Guess that just means that I have to get up there," Ganon replied, looking around. He spied a very narrow ledge running around the room, so small that he probably couldn't walk on it, but…

"What are you doing!?!" Nabi yelled, and Ganon almost lost his grip on the ledge.

"Trying to get over there, if you let me focus," Ganon retorted with a strained voice. Nabi remained quiet as he slowly worked his way around, until he was over another platform. He dropped, and then surveyed his situation. He had a bit of a long jump to another ledge, which had a ladder up to the high platform. He braced himself to jump across, and then ran for the edge.

"Are you crazy?" Nabi shouted, breaking his concentration. He misplaced his last step before launching, leaving him well short of his target. He grabbed the edge, barely, but didn't have enough of a grip to hold on, and slid off towards the lava below. "Nooooo!" he heard Nabi scream as he braced for landing. Everything flashed white as his feet hit…


	3. Surprises

Everything flashed white as his feet hit…

…solid ground. Unbalanced, he fell back, sitting hard on what very much felt like rock. Forcing his eyes open, he looked around to see just what was going on. Nabi was still screaming, and hadn't noticed that he was now behind her. "Hey!" he shouted, causing her to lose her focus and fall from the air. He reached out and caught her before she could fall into the pit below.

"Huh? What the crap!" she shouted in his face. "How'd you get back up here?"

"Can I blame you?" he asked rhetorically.

"Now why would…!" She froze as she realized what he meant.

"You probably have some magic, now that you're a fairy," Ganon continued. "Which is probably what brought me back up here."

"Well, let's not test that theory," Nabi sighed. "I don't need to have another heart attack."

"Then calm down and let me jump." Ganon backed up again. Nabi was nervous, but she held her tongue. Sure enough, Ganon was able to clear the gap, barely. He brushed himself off and climbed up the ladder. The key was still there, somehow standing on end near the edge of the platform. He picked it up and put it in his pack with the other one. "Are you coming or not?" he called down to Nabi, who was still on the far side of the gap. Shaking off her daze, she flew up to join him.

"So, now the one way door, yeah?" she asked, sitting on his shoulder again. Ganon nodded, and walked over to the door. Sure enough, it opened easily from this side, and he found himself in the middle of the chain-link maze. He made his way through until coming to the first of the two locked doors. As with all of the others, the skeleton key worked perfectly…and then snapped off in the lock, preventing further use. Which was why he needed as many keys as he did. He couldn't help but wonder if there was a master key around somewhere that could open the locks without breaking in the process. "Alright, we did it!" Nabi shouted as he unlocked the second door and stepped through. After so long seeing it only through the chain link fences, Ganon hadn't really appreciated the blade until now, when it lay within his reach.

"It's…incredible!" he gasped. Simple as it was, the sword was a work of art and master craftsmanship. He pulled it from its scabbard, and admired the blade. Straight and true, it retained a sharp edge after being down here for countless years. As he held it, he felt its power flow into him, charging his body and his mind. Instinctually, he held his blade ready, focusing his own energies on it, and then unleashed it all in a spinning slash, shouting as he carved a circle around him. "Wow," he marveled, returning it to its scabbard and belting the scabbard on.

He turned back towards the exit, but was suddenly diverted as the floor opened underneath him. "Ganon!" Nabi yelled as she darted down after him. He slid down the chute, and found himself in another room that he hadn't seen before. In the center of the room stood an impressive statue, three heads were stacked atop one another, each with a different expression, each facing a different direction, and each adorned with a bright gem on its forehead. "Are you alright?" Nabi asked as he got to his feet. He nodded, and Nabi turned to study the statue as well. "Man, what freak made this thing?" she asked, flying towards it.

She squealed and backpedaled as the three pairs of eyes lit up and the statue began to spin. "It's a trap!" Ganon shouted, drawing his new sword and parrying the arrow that the bottom face had just shot at him. The mid-level head was shooting flames, and the top one started to launch bombs.

Spotting a blind spot in its attacks, Nabi flew directly above the statue as Ganon began to strike at it with his sword, dodging the arrows and bombs as best he could. She could tell that he wasn't really achieving anything, though. Then she realized that she could feel a focus of its energies in each of the gems. "Aim for the jewels!" she shouted down to him. With a quick nod, Ganon complied, reaching back after the bottom head passed him again. The sword bounced off the gem, but it did some damage this time, too, causing it to flash and crack. Another hit as it came back around shattered it. Ganon jumped back as cracks spread through the rest of the head, and it suddenly and explosively shattered a moment later.

Once the smoke cleared, Ganon saw that the second head now rested on the floor. It seemed that it had been stunned by the fall, but it was recovering, and began spinning again. And with the flamethrower now at ground level, the flames were much more difficult to avoid. So were the bombs, as they now landed much closer to the center. Annoyed, and having a hard time getting back in, Ganon picked up one of the bombs and threw it back at the spinning heads. Emboldened by the sound of glass breaking when the bomb exploded in the statue's face, he tried again. After the third bomb, the second gem shattered, and the second head died in the same way the first had.

That left Ganon with only the bomb-shooting head left. Once it began spinning again, though, it was going much faster than it had been. And it didn't seem to be affected by the bombs he threw back at it, either. "Smack it again!" Nabi shouted at him. "You've only got the fuses to worry about, now!" Ganon nodded, realizing she was right, that it was again easy to get close enough to smack it with his sword again. The bombs were easy enough to avoid, as long as he was mindful of them. It helped that some of them released little hearts, after blowing up the nearby rocks or pottery, that somehow recovered his lost energy.

It took several more hits than the other two sections, but eventually the final gem broke, and the final head crumbled to dust. "Hey, look at this!" Nabi called after Ganon had turned to look for an exit. He turned back to see a much larger heart sitting where the statue had been.

"What is that thing?" he asked, mesmerized.

"I think it's called a Heart Container," Nabi said, concentrating. "I think that it's supposed to make you stronger, somehow."

"Well, then let's see if it works!" Ganon shouted as he grabbed the mysterious heart. As he held it up, he could feel energy flowing from it into him. After a moment, it vanished, leaving that feeling of energy behind.

"Well, do you think it worked?" Nabi asked, flitting around his head.

"I don't know," Ganon replied, "but it does feel like I could probably take a few more hits than before. I guess that it strengthened my defenses, more than my attack power."

"Well, that does make sense," Nabi commented. "A heart isn't exactly an aggressive symbol."

Ganon didn't bother answering, but instead returned to looking for a way out of the underground chamber. "We slid down here, and I don't know that we'll be able to get back up…"

"Over here!" Nabi called again. Ganon looked over to where she was flying above a strange blue glow on the far side of the chamber from where he'd entered. "I think this will take us back outside."

"How do you know all this anyways?" Ganon asked as he walked over. "I don't remember you being especially…studious before."

"Ehe, yeah, guess not," she replied sheepishly. "I think it came along with this form. Or at least along with the spell that Koume and Kotake used."

"Whatever it was, it's very useful," Ganon commented as he stepped into the blue circle. He felt his feet lift off the ground as the blue light washed over him…


End file.
